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i was at the library this morning and a timeout magazine was stuck between the pages of the daily mirror newspaper. so i got to read it, it came out today.

and i saw a entry saying free sandwich given out by this place,cure and cut, in seven dials, covent gdn. it starts at 12pm, so i went there and there was not much of a queue. only two people and i found out that they are the same couple who i saw at the bodean free ribs lunch. and at the free breakfast at hoxten square. haha.

this sandwich is made of some very salty pastrami , and there was cheese too, between two slices of bread and the whole thing toasted.

there was no queue at all, it might be no one knows of it as it is only today that the timeout came out, but this promotion continues tomorrow, where he gives away another 50 sandwiches . so tomorrow might be a busier time.

the couple told me if i want more free food, there is a promotion down the road by shake shack, giving away free hamburgers.

but i got chatting to a guy who got his free sandwich, and ask me if it is pork or beef. i did not know… so he asked the couple who said it was beef. turned out he can eat beef, not pork. but he said he wont eat the cheese as it is so salty… and he mentioned he was working once at a well known chain sandwich firm, and saw the workers there putting in so much salt.

he is so particular about eating salt, that he did not eat the other half of the sandwich. so he is even more disciplined than me. i would eat the other half, as i dont like to waste food.

i told him the salt is the one that stop me buying food from outside… so i only eat them when it is free.

though even then, i did not go to the shake shack to get the free hamburger…

we chatted about his marriage to a moroccan woman, he brought her to uk from morocco, had 2children by her, she brought over her father , who continuously say morocco is better, ( one wonders why he came to uk then, maybe the daughter told him to. not realising that to him morocco is best and that he would be happier if he had remained in morocco. now he is forever missing morocco. so all you children who think u know best for your parents and bring them here, you are not doing them any favours…)

and he was telling me how he lost everything when his wife suddenly turned against him and got him evicted from the council flat he had, (in sloane square too, he is damn lucky to get a council flat in sloane square), lost now to his wife who kept the kids too and cut him out of their lives, while he still have to pay maintainance to the child benefit agency. all in all, a sorry tale of woe.

there has been a hooha from feminists asking that a conservative MP be suspended from parliament , because in a conference speech he said the justice laws are biased against men, and that feminists want to have their cake and eat it. he was only speaking the truth and this chap’s woeful tale is just one illustration of how men get the worse end of the stick. here is a transcript of his speech.

chatting to him and hearing his tale of woe i told him i am right glad i am gay and have nothing to do with women, because from all that i hear, they are toxic.

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what is showing now in the vue cinema in leicester square. i confess i am only attracted to it by the big central poster of zac effron.haha.

eggs forrestier, 2 poached eggs on top of buns and mushrooms and spinach. very nice it was too. (from the menu they put up in the front, it normally costs £8 or so.)

i was at the free breakfast given by smokey tails, to commemorate their extending their hours to breakfast. they are at hoxton square. i saw it being served earlier while waiting in the queue and asked that person what it is called. so when it is my turn i asked for it without any hesitation and got my order in straight away. there was free coffee or orange juice, i chose the coffee, and it turned out it is free refills as well. and they use full cream milk too. though if u add a lot of milk it does cool the coffee somewhat.

the music was rather loud, so i used the ear plugs i found in my bag. i have no idea where those ear plugs came from but it is one of the things that i must have picked up in my wanderings around the city. turned out to be very useful.

there was a bit of a wait for the order to be cooked , which is to be expected, but i was able to while the time away by taking pictures of the other people there, and to read the free newspapers which i got from the tube. it was really crowded on the tube, even though it was about 8am , those commuters really have to suffer this everyday. i took the northern line at stockwell, right in time for the early morning rush hour to the city.

it was very pleasant taking my time over breakfast because i was given a seat at a corner just inside the restaurant so not exposed in the garden outside where you can feel the eyes of the people queueing boring into you if u continue to sit there after u have eaten. haha. actually the queue thinnned out when i finished… about 11am…so it was not so selfish of me really to hang about a bit and enjoy the whole thing.

it seems many have to work and cannot really hang about. they open at 8am and i think that is a busiest time as many workers will try to get there before their work starts at about 9am. so u would have a shorter wait if u have gone nearer the 12pm end of their free deal. it was a very nice experience all in all. and my thanks to them for doing it.

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it was very unhurried and pleasant. a pity i did not remember to take a photo of the egg forrestier… it was really nice looking and tastes great. the staff are really very nice and friendly.

the day progresses splendidly.

i decided to go to the free burger and beer offer by the well, a pub off st john’s street, in the middle of an area with angel at one end, and farringdon at the other.

they are celebrating their 15 yrs. thank you to them for doing it. very generous of them.

i went to angel, and walked down , it was raining,and arrived about quarter to 12pm when it was supposed to start. there were very few people queueing outside and i thought it must be the rain putting them off. at the head of the queue was a young guy , an indian guy who told me he took early lunch to get there. normally lunch , he said his lunch is from 12pm-2pm. ( come to think of it, it is very long… he says he works in the IT business.) he heard of this via facebook, i heard of it via a newsletter emailed to me by londonist.

then he said lets go in, even though it was not yet 12pm, and just inside the entrance they were giving away free bottle of beer, and directing us downstairs, where we got a place to sit with a low lying table. there were a few other people seated in that downstairs room allready.

later a huge crowd of people came trooping down the stairs and i said to the guy, i am glad i met you. i would have stayed upstairs queueing, and would not be able to get a seat. and what’s more because we were all early, all of us got the burger served to us, very quickly.

it was very nice burger, cooked medium rare, so that it was pink in the inside which i like. now that i am used to eating it like that i find i prefer it much more than the well done burgers u get in macdonalds or burgerking. also they dont make it salty either, which is great. they have a table full of condiments that u can add if u like, but my new found friend, and his girl friend who joined us , did not bother. they both looked indian, but seem not to be adverse to eating beef. though the girl did not finish the burger.

later,when i left, there was a huge crowd queueing outside, and the place was crowded. they have a cake shaped like the number 15. perhaps they will cut it later… but i was glad to be going haha. it is nice to have these freebies.

i went there by tube as it is quicker, but on the way back i arrived at the bus stop just as the 38 came, so i took that. it was nice to be inside the bus out of the rain. then i shifted to the 88. there were so many of them it is like having a surfeit of them. 2 came at the same time. i have seen 3 tagging each other.

nice thing about london, buses are so often , u dont need to run for a bus, another one will come along soon enough.

this whole week, prime burger is giving free burgers between 1pm-2pm mon-fri 26.10 to 30.10.2015. to celebrate the opening of their branch in euston station. it is on the mezzanine floor. when i went there i found it difficult to find, until i looked at a plan, where they were listed but the plan was a bit out of date, saying yet to be opened.

wandering all over the concourse, i did not notice the mezzanine floor at all, so this promotion certainly was a good idea to let us find them. certainly the management fo the euston station signposting could be better, to tell people milling around the main concourse that just above them is a eating place with seating and quieter and u can still see the train board showing the arrivals and departures. the main concourse was manic, with so many people but the upstairs mezzanine was an oasis of calm.

i was there at 12.30pm, when the queue started so was amongst those early arrivals.its always nice to have free burgers. i got the bad boy, normally costs £10.45 ;a double beefburger, with two beef patties. very filling, though they cook it well done, so it was a bit tough.now i realise why some of their competitors do it medium rare. if they do it medium rare, (leaving the middle raw) it will be more tender. like the byron free double burger i ate when i ate there for their charity do a few weeks ago. there it was 20p , this one is totally free and you can eat there again for the week. just register yourself at the website and fill in the form and they will send u a email which u show to the cashier. some people printed it out, but it is not necessary that would save me 20p as it cost that much to get one printed at my library.

no, all you need is you just show them the email, i just opened my chromebook and showed them the email. i got a laugh from the server, as i was the only one doing it, everyone else showed their smartphones. haha. but it serves its purpose. hehe. in fact i could use it again if i go everyday for the free burger… but i must admit i wont take advantage of their hospitality and let others have a chance. it is only the first 100 between 1-2pm, that the offer is valid for.

they have a electronic thing that they give you and which beeps when the food is ready to collect. that is clever.

the cutlery was wooden knife and fork which dont cut well, so i used my fingers and tried to eat it. i managed it . of course it was very nice to have a free burger and i enjoyed it. they have stiff competition, because right next door to them, and having lots of customers was a leon burger place. they sell the same type of food at the same prices too. the leon place was packed so maybe there is enough customers to share between the two of them. well i wish them both good luck.

added 29.10.15 this morning i saw the branch of leon’s in victoria place and got to read their menu and they are nothing like a burger place at all, in fact they dont do any beef burgers, only chicken burgers. so they are not in competition with the prime burger people. but u can tell i dont frequent these places when i dont even know what leon sells.

i just realised the cashier did ask me something and i said yes without realising what i said yes to. i think that must be the time when she asked how i wanted the burger. so maybe u can specify how rare u want your burger. the other places just made it medium rare without asking… hmm, that is one of the things that happen to you when u get old and lose your hearing. haha. oh dear, and i tend to say yes, even though i dont really know what the question was… ah well, part and parcel of growing old i suppose. but if u ever eat at these places make sure u ask for medium rare, as it is so much more tender to eat.

I just hope i dont get to be like that old couple who came onto the bus. they were slow and doddering and the bus driver even brought the bus down to make it easier for them to board. and delayed going until they were seated. then near oxford circus when the bus paused , they suddenly got into their heads to get up and started walking towards the exit door and the old man began to push against it, and he began to walk forward to reach the driver , that was when the bus moved again and headed to the bus stop and when it reached it he began to push against the door … they act so impatient, or as if the bus wont let them off as if they have never been on a bus before. i hope i dont get to be like that. so old and doddering and do lally. slow and tottering, at first, and then acting like they are sprinting to get out… as if.

it is really nice to live in a city like london with businesses opening and owners willing to risk money on it. and have people willing to spend money and patronise these businesses to keep them going. it gives a very dynamic and happening impression and the feeling that you can make your living here and even your fortune, or if not that you can at least enjoy a lovely life here.

i have just been to the charing cross branch and eaten their hamburger. i chosed the double cheeseburger, and boy is that the truth. there were two 6oz hamburgers in there between two round buns, and it was so high, i could not get my hands round it to eat it like a mouthful. i have to cut it up in pieces with the cutlery they provide. all i have to pay is 25p, and this one cost £12.50. so quite worthwhile to order. it was so good, i could not help telling the chap sitting on the next table to me to order it. i was craving hamburger and this one filled that crave completely.

i went there earlier, at about 12.30pm, but the line was a bit long, and since i am not a office worker with a limited time for lunch, i decided i shall avoid the crowd and go into the charing cross library nearby.

by the time i finished there and went back, there was hardly any queue and it was only near to 2pm, when the office workers rush is over.

the food came very quick too. all in all a very pleasant experience. and very nice of them to do this.

i am in the library now, having just used the library computer to access my email and get a email from byron , a burger company, who are giving away 25p burgers on 6th oct as a promotion for their charity giving free lunch to children, or something like that. i got notice of it via londonist who send me a daily email about things happening in london, but i found an article in the evening standard online. rather nice of them, is this a form of capitalism in action, dont you think? not exactly free food, but close enough.

i am writing off line as the library wifi is not safe enough for chrome to log on.

i had some problems getting the library to print out the email. the first time it did not print anything (@20p a print) and the library assistant have to come to the computer to see what i did … i found out that the email have 3pages and i did not specify which page i want printed , that explained why the page came out blank.

the email contained a square picture code on page 3. that i have to present to the burger joint to get my 25p burger. so it came to 40p all told that is the cost to me because of a repeat print. ah well, such is life. haha. its still cheaper than having my own printer at home. the ink is very expensive and tend to dry out… anyway, if u want a 25p burger just get yourself registered. and get yourself down to a byron burger joint on 6oct.

a street lined with cherry blossom trees just coming into bloom, in sussex gdns. a lolita name for a shop which i find rather amusing, and a really strange building what is it i wonder.

i have been commenting on garfieldhug, and enjoying the exchanges with her; i dont do it often, but this morning finds me rather having a interesting chat with her about the things she posted.

and from it , it seems, i come to realise that london have a lot of freebies. being here, i dont know what is happening in other countries and from all these freebies i get in london, i tend to think that is also what other countries’ citizens get as well, but not so it would appear.

well, if any one else lives in a country that gives them free meals let me know ok?

they are genuinely free meals, no strings attached, no pressure to buy expensive drinks or even tip the staff. amazing, !!! i dont know how the staff feels about it, all that hard work and no tips because no one pays.

perhaps the staff dont mind because their pay do not depand on the tips, unlike in the usa.